ps audio reviews

The blue LED display of the GCD is sufficiently bright and displays volume level in relatively large digits that can easily be read from 10 ft away. As a nuclear medicine technologist, I know there are some inside the gamma camera that I use every day at the hospital. Not only that, but it can also serve as a very capable headphone amplifier. While the PerfectWave DAC II was more superior as expected, nevertheless this comparison showed that the GCD was more than capable to hold its ground and did not give up much to the PerfectWave DAC II, a testament on how well PS Audio did in engineering the GCD within the target price point. The separation among instruments in the track was portrayed excellently. It was neutral and transparent, or in other words, it did not get in the way of music. It sounds like a large soundstage and you get just enough reverberation from the space that you can almost feel like you are there. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money.". With a price tag of $1699, this seems to be a lot of product for the money and its multi-function nature can help reduce the clutter in one’s whole hi-fi system by reducing the number of component boxes in it. Other features of the preamplifier include selectable DAC filters, home-theater bypass, and DC triggers. For example, even though the bass response of the GCD is in general quite satisfactory, it does not have the same attack and slam as that of the PerfectWave DAC II. Norah Jones’ voice sounded natural and full-bodied. Certainly, there is not enough landscape on the OLED window to display everything in large digits, but a possible way to overcome this is to rotate the information displayed using large digits, for example by using a remote-control command. Its shortcomings were not at all obvious or objectionable, and in most cases, the GCD made up more on the other aspects of its performance that was more crucial to the overall musicality of the presentation. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. The volume level of one of the analog inputs can be set fixed for home-theater passthrough input, which is a convenient feature for home-theater integration, allowing the surround processor to control the volume of the two front channels when this input is selected. A right-click of the mouse gives a user the option to make the NuWave the default recipient of the audio signal. As an analog preamp, the GCD behaved as a good preamp should be. The front of the unit has no buttons or knobs. Amplifiers, CD players and transports, DACs, and preamplifiers. The input/output connectors of the GCD on the rear panel are nicely laid out. A unique feature is the ability to flip the phase of the incoming signal either from the panel of from the comfort of your couch via the remote. Never have I seen this kind of value in a HiFi Integrated Amp and yes this amp does give you a small taste of what the high end is. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. PCM (384KHz max), DSD64 (DoP), DSD128 (DoP), (Analog Unbalanced) 1 stereo pair (Analog Balanced) 1 stereo pair All this for $1699! For album covers to display on the panel, you’ll need to leave the data card in place in the back, which is fine, that way you don’t lose it. It features music from famous movies such as Dances with Wolves, E.T., Carousel, and my favorite, the suite from The Wizard of Oz. I noticed sonic improvement with the time I spent recently with a powerful Class-D amplifier that really added punch and body to my system. Only these two types of inputs can be used to process the DSD signals, while the others can only process the PCM signals. The DirectStream is a fully balanced design. In the setup mode, the volume knob also serves to navigate through the available setup options. Will all these nice attributes, the GCD never failed to convey the emotion in the music, allowing me to get more involved in its presentation. Now, if you have a few SD cards on hand, and you are really geeky into this, you could load a software from a previous release and re-load it for comparison and keep the one that you feel sounds the best on your system. My speakers are the Revel Concerta2 F36’s. In those aspects, it handily beat out the Audiolab P-DAC portable headphone amplifier (MSRP $199) that my son normally used. The unit will initialize for about 30 seconds while it loads the current software into the FPGA via an SD card in the back. PS Audio came up with a solution to this problem long ago: completely regenerate the incoming AC power in an effort to minimize these issues. It is an excellently built versatile preamplifier that can handle both the analog and digital signal switching equally well. In any case, streaming DSD (single and/or double rate) music from my Mac to the DirectsSream via USB was nothing short of astonishing! The coax can handle up to 192 kHz signals, while the optical can only handle up to 96 kHz signals. The PS Audio GainCell preamp/DAC is a winner in every respect. The amplification used during the review was alternating between the PS Audio HCA-2 and the Bel Canto Ref500S, driving my trusty NHT Evolution T6 speakers. PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC Review; Vinyl Review: Jackie McLean – Lights Out! For a phono cartridge, it can handle both Moving Coil or Moving Magnet. Perfect for any speaker. This bass energy was presented by the PerfectWave DAC II with such a gutsy attack and authority. However, such a digital data output format is not yet standardized, and thus it can only be used with the digital source components that output I2S data using HDMI connection. I’m not going to get into the DSD being one bit at very high sample rates, because that has been covered by SECRETS in the past. The PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter (NPC) is a fully balanced analog phono preamplifier, but also has a built-in Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) as an optional way of using it. The enabling of the DAC mode will bypass the analog preamp section and the GCD will function only as a DAC with fixed volume output. This success is not only garnered by the quality of the products PS Audio produces over the years, but also by the company’s willingness to stand behind its products, offering support for service, repair, and product updates that are above and beyond the industry’s best practices. PS Audio claims perfection there ("bit perfect") so I figured they can't complain about that. There are differences among the three DAC filters provided in the GCD (Filter 1: slow roll-off linear phase, Filter 2: fast roll-off minimum phase, Filter 3: fast roll-off linear phase), but for most music, I found these differences were subtle. We learnt a bit more about his motivations and mind set in an interview we conducted with Paul at the eve of introducing their Network Bridge, an add-on to the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC or PWD for short. JBL Synthesis SDP-55 & SDR-35 Q&A Nick Clarke – Senior Director of Global Engineering, Thank You To All of Our SECRETS Fans and Supporters, RIAA Vinyl Sales Q&A with McIntosh Group CEO Jeff Poggi. This product would definitely pique my interest if I were in the process of building a modestly budgeted hi-fi system. Remember when we used to go to audio shows? The PS Audio DirectStream Junior DAC ($3,999) is a prime example of this phenomenon. I also downloaded a few dozen audio files in various DSD sample rates onto my Mac mini. At the time of this conversation, Snowmass, the 8th major firmware update, had just come out and was garnering positive attention. The PS Audio Sprout is one example of this and a fine one indeed. I absolutely loved what I heard. PS Audio Stellar GainCell Preamp/DAC SPECIFICATIONS, © Copyright 2020 Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity /, Show Reports, Film Festivals and Concerts, Marantz SACD 30N Network SACD Player Review, MartinLogan Balanced Force 212 Subwoofer Review, Starke Sound A8.350 Multichannel Power Amplifier Review, STAX SR-007A Electrostatic Headphone Review, What We Are Watching Vol. He was a member of the SECRETS Team in the early years, before moving to Singapore for a number of years. The improved bass gave the music more authority and muscle. It is this continued passion for audio that has brought him once again to the SECRETS team. Your taste and system may dictate otherwise. It feels quite rigid and very well constructed. The GCD is supplied with a relatively small infra-red remote control, which can be used to switch on/standby the device, select the input, adjust the volume level or mute the sound, select the filter or phase for the digital playback, and dim/un-dim the LED display. Vacuum tubes and 1200 watts The M1200 monoblocks combines rich warmth with jaw-dropping power and seemingly infinite headroom. It took a few months but I was able to procure a BHK 250 for review along with the BHK Pre-amp. Our magazine, which began with the publication of the SECRETS Primer, is available exclusively on-line and offers to our readers an extensive information resource about home theater and high-end audio. Hence, it is honest in its presentation and never tries covering its shortcomings with some unnecessary artifacts. The front panel of the GCD is clean and uncluttered. The sense of depth, when the organ joins in, is impressive. Really, it’s a DSD world out there, but you have to look for it! This design offers the listener extremely low jitter as it uses one master clock for all incoming signals. The first is the Stellar M1200 monoblock amplifier duo (€7400/pair) that, on paper, promises eye/mouth-watering output power: 600wpc into 8 Ohms, 1200wpc into 4 Ohms, stable down to 2 Ohms.. Everything just sounds alive, like being on stage with them when it was recorded. If I played an SACD (stereo) out to the DSD from my OPPO UDP-203, the OPPO down-sampled the DSD signal to 88kHz. Amplifier 2020 ReviewDACFeaturedGainCellPreampPreamplifiers 2020 ReviewPSPS AudioStellarStellar GainCell. The display brightness is adjustable (Bright or Normal) from inside the menu. This sounds like a bargain if the product can deliver the crux of the matter, which is high-fidelity sonic performance. Full-range Speaker Systems vs. Satellite-subwoofer Combinations, Schiit Audio Freya+ Preamplifier and Vidar Amplifier Review, Andover Introduces Spindeck Belt-Drive Turntable, Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 Digital Audio Player Review, Audio-gd Vacuum HE1 XLR Tube Preamplifier Review, Audio Research LS28 Triode Stereo Preamplifier Review, Starke Sound A8.350 8-Channel Power Amplifier Preview, Introducing the DALI RUBICON 6 BLACK EDITION, Cambridge Audio doubles the power with new Edge M monoblock power amplifier, BLUESOUND ADDS NEW SURROUND MODE LISTENING OPTION, PreSonus Eris E3.5 Powered Speakers Review, Andover Audio Spinbase Turntable Speaker System Review. PS Audio has been around for a while and the company’s reputation among hi-fi stereo connoisseurs is rock solid. it’s there, but not very emotionally engaging. 6: November 2020, What We’re Listening To. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. DAC can handle both PCM (up to 24-bit/384-kHz) and DSD music signals (through its I, DAC is capable of up to 384 kHz PCM and 5.6 MHz DSD signals. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. PS Audio should be applauded. Although it has been available for over six months, I've seen only a few reviews … This brings out more details and improves imaging. I’ll keep my discs, but now I have a world of hi-res music in the palm of my hand. Full-range Speaker Systems vs. Satellite-subwoofer Combinations, Auralic VEGA G2 DAC and LEO GX Master Clock Review, HIFIMAN R2R2000 HD Streaming Audio Device and DAC, Sonus faber Olympica Nova I Loudspeaker Preview, JBL Introduces L82 Classic Bookshelf Loudspeakers at CES 2020, Black Ice Glass FX Tube DAC DSD WI-FI Review, Topping D10 USB DAC and USB SPDIF Converter Review, Chord Electronics Mojo DAC and Poly Streamer, Starke Sound A8.350 8-Channel Power Amplifier Preview, Introducing the DALI RUBICON 6 BLACK EDITION, Cambridge Audio doubles the power with new Edge M monoblock power amplifier, BLUESOUND ADDS NEW SURROUND MODE LISTENING OPTION, PreSonus Eris E3.5 Powered Speakers Review, Andover Audio Spinbase Turntable Speaker System Review, FPGA (field-programmable gate array) core processor chip, Digital input is up-sampled to 20 times standard DSD rate (2.84MHz) before processing, Post-processing signal is converted to double-rate DSD (5.6MHz) then to passively filtered analog output, Handwritten FPGA code by Ted Smith, voiced by Paul McGowan and the late Arnie Nudell, The FPGA code has been tweaked several times and those upgrades are FREE, Resolution perfect volume and balance controls built-in, Simple, direct signal path with one master clock which is immune to incoming jitter, Free FW updates that tweak the sound quality, plus, you can go back to prior versions if you like them better, Solid construction and a pleasing aesthetic design, Intuitive touchscreen with informative display. 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